If you’re looking for a way to secure your products and reduce shipping loss, damaged goods, worker injuries, and more, you might want to consider using stretch wrap. As the name suggests, stretch wrap is a stretchable plastic film that’s wrapped around a load of products. It will keep the contents of a load securely wrapped together and protect it against puncturing, moisture, and other things that are known to cause freight damage. Many people tend to underestimate stretch wrapping, but they shouldn’t—it’s one of the most efficient ways to ensure your product arrives at the customer safely. Plus, when pallet loads are wrapped correctly by quick, efficient machinery, it can also save you a lot of money. If you’re wondering how, here are five ways to save using stretch wrapping.
Say Yes To Pre-Stretch
Pre-stretch is the process where stretch film is stretched before it’s applied to a load. This will increase the yield and overall strength of each roll of film. If you’re wrapping loads by hand, you likely won’t be able to take advantage of pre-stretch. Many semi-automatic stretch wrappers, on the other hand, come standard with pre-stretch film delivery systems.
Keep Workers Safe
It’s important to keep your workers safe. It’s the moral thing to do, and it’s also a smart thing to do from a business standpoint. If your workers become injured on the job, you may be held liable for their hospital bills. And regardless of whether they can come back to work or need to stay home during the recovery period, morale and productivity will take a nosedive. By using machines that come equipped with the appropriate safety features, like category 3 safety standards, you can cut down on employee stress and the likelihood of on-the-job injuries.
Cut Down on Labor Costs
Another way you’ll save by using stretch wrapping is by freeing up your workers for more important tasks. Automating the stretch wrapping process with semi-automatic or automatic pallet wrappers reduces or eliminates the need for human intervention, allowing your workers to focus on other things instead. A pallet wrapper that attaches the film and cuts it at the end of the wrap cycle can save you up to two minutes per load. Depending on how many loads you wrap, that’s an estimated $29,000 over five years. This might not seem like much, but the amount that you’ll save on labor will rack up over time.
Save Space
You want to make the most out of every square foot you have available. If you’re not using space efficiently, you’re wasting money—and nobody likes to waste money. Instead of using a separate stretch wrapping machine and platform scale, get a machine that combines both. You can remove the freestanding scale and replace it with a scale that goes under the stretch wrapping machine. You can also choose a palletizer with concurrent stretch wrapping. This saves on initial investment costs by having an all-in-one machine, plus it saves you valuable floor space.
Prevent Damage
If you make sure your loads are locked to the pallet with a film cable, have no long or dragging film tails, and are shipped with the right amount of containment force, the chance of them being damaged or lost during transit is extremely low. This will save you time and money, as well as keep your clients and their customers satisfied.
Whether you’re planning to use stretch wrap for the first time or want to streamline your existing stretch wrapping process, make sure to get your equipment from reliable stretch wrap machine manufacturers like Robopac USA. We’re dedicated to providing high-quality products with superior technology.
